18 Aug 2011

Youth offender ID bill passed under urgency

8:50 pm on 18 August 2011

Parliament passed legislation under urgency on Thursday to restore the police's right to keep fingerprints and photographs of youth offenders under certain circumstances.

Changes made to the Policing Act in 2008 unintentionally made storage of fingerprints and photographs of young people appearing before the Youth Court illegal.

Under current law, those details can only be kept if there is a conviction, and a referral to a District Court for sentence or decision.

The new bill changes that so that the details can be kept in all cases except when a young person is acquitted.

The legislation passed by 106 votes to 13 with the Greens, the Maori Party and Independent MP Chris Carter voting against.

The Maori and Green parties say the passing of the bill under urgency is an abuse of parliamentary process.

Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell says the legislation considers a serious issue and should have been put out for public consultation.

Police Minister Judith Collins says the view from the Greens and the Maori Party that the bill is some kind of conspiracy is outrageous.